The cases of websites being blocked are increasing every year due to numerous factors. In many countries, due to increased censorship, governments are actively censoring access to Internet and forcing users to stay away from even popular websites and social networks. Similar cases also occur in schools and offices, where the network administrator forces us to find methods to access blocked sites.
In this article, you can check several easy ways to bypass censorship to access blocked websites. These easy-to-use and effective methods include the use of VPN, extensions, DNS hacking, proxy websites and others.
Important: If your office (or school) has banned some websites on their network, unblocking them could violate their workplace policies. Therefore, we do not recommend that you try to bypass filters in these cases.
How to access blocked sites?
1. Use VPN to unblock online
As its name suggests, a VPN (Virtual Private Network) software acts as a layer of hiding that does not reveal your real IP address. While you use a VPN, your device traffic passes through a VPN server that is not blocked by the government or ISP, allowing you to browse websites.
Based on our experience and expert reviews, using a reliable VPN service is the best way to unblock websites with ease. All popular VPNs have their apps for Windows, macOS, ,Android, iOS, Linux, etc., making it easy to unblock sites at work or school.
If top-notch security is not your primary goal, you can also try free VPN services to open blocked sites.
2. Access Blocked Sites – Use Proxy Websites
Very often, in a professional environment, employers set certain limits to restrict access to some particular websites and services, such as video streaming, social networks, or even personal emails. Sometimes you need a way to access blocked websites, and in those situations, proxy websites act as a rescue method.
However, keep in mind that an unblock proxy is not as secure as a VPN. Therefore, if you keep your work secret, method 1 is the one you should choose.
On the web, there are hundreds of proxy websites that make your web experience "unrestricted". A proxy website camouflages the blocked site from ISPs and allows you to access blocked websites.
For example, in case Facebook is blocked by your institution, you can go to a proxy site and enter the blocked URL to access the service.
3. Access blocked sites in Chrome.
It's also possible that Chrome has blocked a particular website on your PC or someone else has configured it to do so. In that case, there are some simple steps you can take to change specific settings and change permissions to access that particular website.
To unblock websites in such cases, enter the web address of the website in Chrome and to the left of the address bar, look at the icon. Click on it and look for Site Settings to change the blocking status.
4. Use IP instead of URL
Most know that the URL of every website has an IP address, and the authorities that block the site may have stored the URL instead of the IP. In that case, you can use the IP address of a website to open banned web pages in your Chrome browser.
- On Windows, type tracert websitename.com at the command prompt to get the IP address.
- On Mac, open Network Utility> click traceroute at the top and enter the website address to find your IP address.
- For iPhone and Android, search for apps named Traceroute in the App Store and Play Store.
- On Linux, type say websitename.com in Terminal to get the IP address.
5. Use Google Translate to access blocked sites
Institutes or even countries sometimes don't ban Google Translate. Probably because it is an educational tool and no one considers it powerful enough to unblock sites in schools or offices. So with this tool, you can bypass the restriction by converting the blocked website to another language that you can know.
Try Google Translate and see for yourself; simply paste the URL and then click on the URL that appears in the translated section.
6. Avoid censorship through extensions
If the websites that are blocked are dynamic in nature, like Facebook or YouTube, then you should try these extensions. Hola and ProxMate are some extensions that you can use to access blocked websites in Chrome and other browsers. UltraSurf is such a powerful extension that it allows you to surf freely using your encrypted proxy network. It is powerful enough to defeat firewalls.
7. Replace your DNS server (Custom DNS)
You can simply use this method and bypass the lock. This method generally involves the use of Google DNS or OpenDNS to access the Internet.
Cloudflare's DNS service 1.1.1.1 claims to be the fastest and most privacy-focused DNS service. Cloudflare also made its DNS 1.1.1.1 service available through Android and iOS apps. I often use this one-click method to access blocked sites in my region.
8. Go to the Internet Archive – Wayback Machine to access blocked sites
The Wayback Machine is an interesting service that stores a copy of almost every website on the Internet. Save multiple versions of a website and you can use it to access previous versions of a website. Users can also use it to browse blocked content online.
So even if any service or website goes down, Wayback Machine has your back. In addition, the Internet Archive also contains many movies, documentaries, retro games, e-books, etc.
9. Use the website's RSS feed
RSS readers are useful for getting new content and reading it easily. You can take the RSS feed of the blocked website and add it to your reader. The problem here is that some RSS readers may load an entire web page at the top of your user interface, which could be used to access a blocked website.
10. Use TOR (The Onion Router)
If you are a privacy advocate, you may already be familiar with the popular Tor browser. This could act as a web blocker bypass tool if you set it up correctly. In many cases, you can unblock websites at your school or office and remain anonymous as well. There is a double advantage, as you could also get rid of any kind of surveillance.
After VPNs and proxies, Tor is the most powerful method of unblocking sites. It is also used as a gateway to dark web sites, or .onion sites, that are blocked on your regular web.
Tip: Use Tor over VPN
In addition to bypassing the web blocker, if you are interested in exploring ways to improve your computer's security, you can also opt for the deadly combination of TOR and VPN. Many VPNs like NordVPN and ExpressVPN provide technology like Onion Over VPN, which offers an extra layer of protection.
Other Uncommon Methods of Accessing Blocked Sites Online
1. Change the Internet network
Most ISPs provide a dynamic IP to users, which changes from time to time. Therefore, it is possible that the owner of a website has blocked your particular IP for some time. In that case, you can access that blocked site by resetting your Wi-Fi router to force the ISP to assign it another IP address.
Another easy way to bypass restrictions is to use your personal smartphone network if your network administrator has blocked particular services. While this method is not 100% foolproof, it is a nice and legal alternative to breaking the rules in your office.
2. Use the HTML to PDF converter to access blocked sites
SodaPDF offers a free online service that can help you directly download a web page to your PC without even accessing it. Just visit their website and enter the desired URL. There are other services to bypass the web blocker with an HTML to PDF converter that you can try.
There are some services that need your URL and just mail you the unblocked web page. Overall, it's an easy way to unblock a website without a proxy or VPN.
3. Use Firefox from a USB drive
If you know that your school or office takes steps to restrict access to the site, I wouldn't be surprised if you weren't allowed to install web browser extensions to open the websites for your personal use. In that case, you can install a web browser like Firefox portable on a USB drive. Pair it with a good unblock proxy service and you've got yourself covered.
4. URL Recast Method
There are cases where a particular website is hosted on a VPN and does not have a verified SSL certificate installed. For such websites, you can simply go to your web browser's address bar and try typing instead of going to www.url.com or . This change may display a security warning. press the option proceed anyway and visit the website. This is not a foolproof method, but it can be useful at times.
5. Change the network proxy in browsers to access blocked sites
Your university or institute may have more than one proxy for their network. Therefore, it could happen that some websites are restricted in one proxy, but accessible in another. You can try proxy browsing to access blocked websites at your university.
Disabling network proxy settings in your web browser is not a difficult task. You just need to find the connections / network option in your web browser settings. There, you can select the option without a proxy or use another option that provides unrestricted browsing at your institution.
These are some of the most effective and easy-to-use methods to bypass the censorship that has been imposed on your favorite websites. Let us know which one you prefer to access blocked websites in your region.